Same Better Worse, Take 3

I heard the D&C bit this morning. I heard their answers and I stand by my belief that D&C belong on a non sports related radio station. Anyway, I wanted to offer some more on what to expect from some of the players that will make up the 08 Sox:

Youk: I am going to say he will put out about the same numbers as last year, with on notable exception. I just have to play the odds and say that he will commit an error this year. He has to, the odds are just stacked against him to go another 162 without an error.

Pedroia-Worse, but still awesome for a guy who measures up the same as a second baseman in a Babe Ruth league in terms of height and weight. Keep in mind that in that scenario the Babe Ruth player has not entered puberty yet. Seriously, he had an amazing year after a scary start, and will continue to progress into an amazing second baseman that we own the rights to for the next several years. Defensively he will be fantastic.

Lugo- He will be gone by the all star break. They will say the same thing that they said about Rentaria; "He just couldnt handle the pressure cooker of playing in Boston." Rootbeer & Bacon can't wait to welcome Jed Lowrie to the Bigs. I got to see him play up in Portland, and he is the real deal...at least he was into the third inning...Thats when things got a little fuzzy and then after that, there was nothing...

Lowell- I am going to say Same, here. I think that he had a great year, but its what he should be putting out in my opinion. He has a legit chance of contending for league leader in doubles, and he uses the Monster well. What can I say? I love him and his singular testicle!

Manny- MUCH BETTER, As Nick put it, he is locked and loaded, and very publicly spent the offseason working to improve. I am hoping for a monster year out of him starting right out of the gate. Remember when he went inside the monster to take a piss in a cup? That was awesome...

Ellsbury- He has struggled this spring, but I think that he will be good, although I expect to see Cocoa out there more than the pink and green hats would like to think. Don't get me wrong, I think that Ellsbury is going to be locking down center field for a good long time, but they are going to want to protect his confidence and shop Cocoa.

Drew- My gut is telling me that we are going to see the guy that we paid for. I am cutting him HUGE slack for last season. Hell, his kid was sick and spent the better part of the season in a body cast. If I remember right, his kid is only like 7. As an expectant father, I have spent much time worrying about what MIGHT happen to my daughter, so I can somewhat relate to what ole JD was dealing with, and I fully excuse him if his mind was somewhere else. I am going to say A hell of a lot better, he has already hit two homeruns in as many games in Japan.

Varitek- I want to say better, but I think his bat will be about the same at .251. He is on a down turn, and the Sox should not sign him to another four years at 10 million a year. I think his leadership and intangibles and his game calling are still awesome, but there is not much left in the tank, or the knees for that matter...

Pitching- Better. Matsuzaka will settle in and have a great year. Remember there were about 5 games where he only let up one or two runs last year, but the offense couldn't get anything done. He would have been near 20 games if they had scored for him. Beckett is the man. Lester is looking good this spring, and should be a solid 4 or 5 guy. And we cannot forget, MY MAN Bartolo Colon, who I still think is going to have a solid year for the Sox.

All in all, I think that we have a solid team that will be playing deep into October. I am working on a post outlining the deeply concerning similarities between Wally the Green Monster and Godzilla...There is something we need to keep an eye on there. But for now, I am all out.

B